Desert Flower Ranger
by Tommehbell
Summary: An Arridi high born girl wants a taste of the life she has only heard about in the wild stories whispered by servants. Can Ara be a Ranger and can she help them save the world?
1. Oh Ranger where art thou?

Ara stood on the bow of the ship as the salt air slapped across her face. Her tiny brown face was alight with with pleasure. She threw her arms out and giggled like a little girl. Well seeing as she was only 15, but she was easily the size of a girl half her age, it wasn't that far of a stretch. This was the first day of the journey she had been able to be on deck without throwing up food she had forgotten she had eaten.

"Lady Ara you might want to hold on to the rail," a gruff voice bellowed over the seas swells. Ara was glad to be out at sea, even if she had to accept a ride from a woflship to reach her goal. She didn't like the rough and tumble life on the boat with the seawolves, but she was wise enough to heed their advice. She grabbed ahold of the rail and was glad because when the ship dipped her feet left the deck of the ship. Only the strength in her arms kept her from pitching overboard.

Olaf grinned as he watched the tiny Arrdi girl scrambled to keep herself from being thrown into the sea. "Enjoying the ride are you?" He asked once she had made her way up to the helm where he was standing.

Ara pushed her curtain of jet black hair out of her face and glared at him. "Is is possible that you are hitting ever wave in the sea Skirl?" she asked. Though Ara was only 15 growing up as the only daughter of a Wakir one tended to grow up faster.

Olaf couldn't keep the grin off his face. "Wouldn't dream of it Lady Ara." Ara wasn't the know that Skandians took vicious pleasure in the seasickness of their passangers. It was only a few hours ago that Ara's color had returned to its normal bronzed tone. For the last 4 days it had been a sick shade of gray and green.

Ara tried to keep glaring at the hulking Skarl but she wasn't that sort of person. A smile cracked her hardened surface. "How long till we reach Araluen?" She asked.

Olaf didn't answer her straight away. He checked the clouds, looked over the rail and then back behind him. "We should reach the Narrow Sea in two days." He told her.

She bobbed her head, "Do you know where I need to go?" Ara was a tad anxious about the journey she had embarked on when she left her father's home in the dead of night.

Olaf shook his head. "Lady Ara those rangers are strange folks. They keep to themselves, but one foot in Araluen and you will be on their tails. That Will Treaty who is a personal friend of the Oberjarl lives in Redmont. Which is about a 5 days journey from the coast." Olaf like all Skandians was a talker. And he liked talking about his Araluenian friends.

Ara nodded as she took in everything that he was saying. She knew she was crazy, but ever since she heard the story of the great rescue of the Skandian Oberjarl by her father's close friend and a band of Ranger's a fire had been lit in her belly.

The only thing that was going to extinguish it was becoming a Ranger.

Ara patted Olaf's muscular arm as she departed for her room. Like all Arridi she only liked the water she could drink. She was a dessert flower. Not a water nymph.

The two days went by painfully slow for Ara. She did a lot of thinking, and rethinking her course. Ara knew her father might send someone after her, she hoped he wouldn't. He had to know how much she wanted this. She didn't want to spend her life swathed head to toe only to bat her eyes at worthy suitors. She certainly didn't want to crank out sons who would carry on their father's business and name. Ara knew she was meant to do more, to be more.

After all the thinking she had been doing seeing land for the first time in six days made her want to weep with joy.

Olaf expertly guided the wolfship up to the pier. In time's long past the appearance of a wolfship would have sent the inhabitants running for armor and broadswords. Since the treaty however the Skandians have cut back on their raiding. The plank was lowered and moved into place.

Olaf swung his girth over the rail and onto the pier. He held out his hand to help Ara off the ship. She wobbled as her feet finally touched solid land. "No fear Lady Ara. You've got the land wobbles. Give it an hour or two and you will have your wits back." He kept the grin of his face as she let go of his hand to wobble around picking up her bags.

Once she had herself situated she turned back to the Skirl. There were tears in her eyes. Olaf blinked at the reaction, "I'm sorry I don't usually cry like this, but you were nice to me when you didn't have to be." She had offered to pay him, she hadn't left home without any money, but Olaf refused to take her money. A girl in distress was his soft spot.

"Think nothing of it." he patted her shoulder, but to Ara it felt like a hammer slamming her into the ground. "Now this town is in the southern part of Araluen. Head to the center of town and find an inn. Only travel on the King's Highway. There are some unscrupulous people everywhere and they aren't as nice as I am." Olaf felt like he was releasing one of his own daughters. "Find yourself a good horse and just head north. Sooner or later you will run into Redmont. You will find your rangers there." He nodded once and stood on the pier to watch Ara's progress.

Ara nodded at his instructions. She may be defying her father's wishes but she wasn't going to disregard Olaf's instructions. Ara waved goodbye to Olaf. She turned around and headed into her new life.

Ara was dressed in the traditional attire for Arridi women of high birth. She was wearing a light fabric bejeweled gown in a bright yellow color. The yellow contrasted with her bronzed coloring nicely. And it detracted nothing from her beauty. As beautiful as her gown was, Araluen was not Arridi and the slight nip in the morning air promised to get colder. Ara started to shiver as she climbed higher and higher into the little sea port town.

Her soft soled shoes were not made to walk the hard packed earth of a forest country. The tiny rocks and pebbles she kept stepping on felt like little needles being jabbed into the soles of her feet. She stopped at the edge of town to sit down on a stump and pick the rocks out of her shoes. There were a few snags in the yellow fabric. She swore softly as she slipped them back on. They were her favorite pair.

Her eyes tried to take in everything she could see. Ara had never been out of Arridi. She ahd seen trees of course. They did grow in the desert. Ara had just never seen a forest, and after climbing up into the town proper she could see the outline of a thick forest ringing around the town. Some of the trees rose up into the heavens and she marveled at their height.

This Araluaen town was set up like the wheel of a wagon. The center of the town was in the middle and all the supporting streets spoked out from the center. Ara found this most peculiar. Arridi towns were set up in a grid pattern with the house of the Wakir at the "top" of the gird, with the less important buildings at the bottom.

She saw a few people who stopped going about their days to look and stare at her. She had been prepared for that. Few Arridi ventured out of the desert, and even few ever sailed this far from home. Ara felt like a true pioneer. She waved to a few of them and was glad when they waved back. Some of the children pointed and tugged on their mother's aprons to whisper questions about the strange brown girl walking into their town.

It wasn't hard to find the inn. It was easily the biggest structure in the town, and right in the middle. An old weather battered sign swung from a pole. A crude seashell swung back and forth with the movement of the wind. Ara smiled and she pushed open the door and walked in.


	2. Ranger May I?

Ara only spent a few days in the seaport town. She switched out her Arridi dress for the heavy Araluen wool and knit. The daughter of the inn owner had braided Ara's hair in a simple french braid. The last purchase was a simple work horse. The beast wasn't pretty but Ara had been assured that he would get her to Castle Redmont safe and sound.

With a full saddle bag and butterflies in her stomach she set out on the King's Highway.

Ara was used to taking charge and leading the way. It was just in her blood. Her father used to tell her that she got it from her mother. Ara could only remember snatches of her mother. Her face was always in the shadows if she tried to remember too hard. Her father, being the Wakir, always had a house that was always humming with people and sounds. Even the servants shuffled around the house till the wee hours of the morning.

Ara had never spent a lot of time alone. She was always surrounded by friends, servants, and her father's sycophants. At the time she resented always being surrounded by people. She felt suffocated, and she knew people were keeping tabs on her and reporting her activities back to her father.

Now she had left all of that behind.

Now she was alone.

"Well I've got you now." She said patted the neck of Bluebell, the little mare she had purchased. The mare nickered and broke into a light trot. It was her first day of traveling and though she was in fact alone she was making the best of it. In Arridi she never would have traveled during the height of the sun. That was suicide in the desert. But here in Araluen, though the sun did provide warmth it was a watered down version. Ara was wrapped up in a sky blue traveling cloak and a darker blue gown that swept up the dirt behind her as she walked.

Ara had been instructed to keep to the King's Highway and head north. She wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to know what way was north, but she was confident that she could stop and ask for directions. The King's Highway was a wide avenue that snaked through the countryside at a gentle pace. The trees were cut back nearly 100 feet in some spots and sometimes the branches of the trees could almost reach out and embrace you. The forest was the most fascinating thing to Ara. The trees creaked and swayed. The array of animal and bird life hiding among the brush were beautiful. A little red bird kept darting among the branches. Ara watched it for a few moments before it felt her eyes upon its wings. The bird took flight into the skies and was gone. She continued on her way.

The road was path of hard packed earth marking the well traveled route through Araluen. It was light traveling throughout the day. Ara made sure she stopped regularly to keep from getting saddle sore and to preserve her mare's strength. Just because she didn't live in Arridi anymore didn't mean she had to forget the important lessons.

During lunch she sat by the side of the road to watch a procession of carnival people. The children smiled and waved to her as she watched the exotic animals roll past. She clapped as the jugglers gave her an impromptu show of their skills. They took bows as they hurried to catch up to the caravan. They were the first travelers she had seen. She was said to see them go.

Ara finished her lunch and got back into the saddle. She rode hard for the first few days. She was eager to get where she was going and for the most part people were happy to point her in the right direction. They were as tight lipped about Rangers as Olaf said they would be. So either they truly didn't want to talk about them or they didn't know anything about them. Ara thought the latter was more accurate than anything.

On her fifth day of traveling a light midst started to fall after her stop for lunch.

It was her first rain in Araluen. It brought forth a heady pine smell that sent Ara into a sneezing tizzy. The sharp smell sunk deep into her clothes and hair. It was going to take her hours to wash the smell off.

After she got her nose under control Ara turned her face up to the sky. A rain was a rare thing in the desert and it was always a cause for celebration. A smile played at the corners of her lips. She opened her mouth allowing a few fat drops to fall in. She flipped the hood up on her traveling cloak and sent Bluebell into a trot. Rain was nice, but there was no use being caught in it. If she could make it to the next town before it started to pour that would be the end of a good day of traveling.

Ara traveled for nearly an hour without spotting a town. "Better rein it in and make camp," she told Bluebell. Though the highway was hard packed earth it was starting to get soupy and Bluebell had slipped more than a few times. Ara didn't fancy getting thrown from a horse.

She pulled off the road into a little alcove of bushes. It made for natural shelter and the ground was relatively dry under the protection of the bushes. Ara slide out of her saddle and cracked her back. Riding horses was not her favorite from of transportation, but it was the fastest. She walked Bluebell over to a tree to teether her. The horse went immediately over to a crop of grass to begin feeding. She rubbed down her horse and draped a blanket over her back. She horse bobbed her head in appreciation of the care and attention. Arridi's didn't become attached to their horses, but they were good to them.

Once the horse was settled Ara set about setting up a little camp. Her first job was to go fetch some water. She was glad the little stream wasn't too far of a walk from her camp. Little stones and pebbles were digging into her shoes. The only things she hadn't replaced from her old life. She filled the kettle and her water skin. It would be silly to keep the water over night, but she liked to have a glass of water close at hand. You never passed up an opportunity to get water.

Once back at her camp she got a fire going and then her small one man tent. It was a lot heavier than the kind she was used to, but with the rain she was glad for the extra weight. It would keep her cozy and dry during the night.

She pulled out a frying pan along with some spices and the piece of fish she had procured earlier in the day. She was starting to feel the pangs of loneliness. Ara was missing her father. She wondered what he was doing right now. Well it wasn't that hard to guess. He was searching for her. Maybe he thought she was kidding and that she had just run off to teach him a lesson. He would go to Amiya's house first. Well no first he would sound the alarm about her disappearance. Work everyone up into a panic about her being gone. Then he would yell at her servants and bodyguards. Then he would go to Amiya's house.

Ara sighed as she dropped the spiced pieces of chicken and mango into the pan. It sizzled and crackled when it hit. The aroma had Ara's mouth watering as she cooked. She pulled a kettle out of her bag. This was the perfect occasion for coffee. Being cold and squatting in the bushes during a downpour was always an occasion for coffee. With a flick her of her she tossed some grounds into the kettle.

It took mere minutes to finish cooking her dinner and brewing her coffee. It was a good thing Ara spent long days in the kitchen learning how to fend for herself. She would be one hungry girl if she thought someone else was always going to be around to do the cooking for her.

She took a moment to lean against a fallen tree branch. She had a full belly and heavy eyelids. It was still light up, but it was fading.

"Look what we have here boys," Ara jumped up at the sound of the voice.

4 men stepped out of the shadows of the forest. They all looked unkempt and raggedy. Person hygiene seemed like a foreign concept to them as Ara could smell them as they closed in around her. They were dressed in simple brown woolen legging under dirty brown tunics. They carried various clubs and knives. Ara moved back and reached for her curved saber, the weapon of choice for Arridi soldiers.

"Oh look. The brown doll has a needle to poke us with." The ugliest of the bunch stepped forward from his buddies. He was grinned from ear to ear as he took in Ara and all the treasures he was counting on relieving her of. His teeth looked like a row of dung beetles doing a macabre dance in his mouth. Ara's stomach rolled at the sight. "Why don't you be a good girl and put that down before someone gets hurt." He took a step toward her.

Ara's back was to the bushes she had been using as shelter. So they couldn't totally circle her, but the bushes were too thick to be used as a means for escape. So was trapped between a rock and bad laundry. "Why don't you come and get it." she shot back. She flicked her rapier clear of its scabbard. Ara took her stance and waited for one of them to make a move. Her heart was off to the races and it felt like it was trying to win. She tried to keep her breathing even and paced, but her sword master never told her that in a life of death situation her body was going to abandon all sense and want to run for the hills. It was a struggle for her to stand her ground, but standing her ground was the only thing she was going to do this day.

The leader grinned, Ara had to fight down the bile. He advanced on her holding his club high. "Though you'd never ask." Ara dropped down to defend herself when a whistling sound made her ears twitch.

Before she could turn toward the sound a gray shafted arrow zipped out of the trees and slammed into the meaty flesh of beetle breath's leg. He dropped his club and yowled like a wet cat. He clutched his leg and crumpled to the ground. Three more arrows whizzed out of the air catching the other's in their hands. Their howls joined their leader who was now whimpering around on the ground.

Ara blinked as the rest of the pitiful gang of robbers quibbled around. She looked around for her rescuer. "We can't have any of that now can we." A pleasant voiced called from the trees.

A tall man stepped out of a tree and into the flickering light of Ara's camp fire. Ara staggered back and fell promptly on her butt in her haste. The man was carrying a massive longbow drawn back with another gray shafted arrow notched and pointed at the leader still howling on the ground and holding his wounded leg.

He was easily taller than everyone in the clearing. When he moved it was like watching a image on the surface of water. He kept flickering in and out focus. Ara scooted back into the safety of her bushes. He might have struck down the gang of marauders but that didn't mean he was doing her a favor.

"Now, all of you know that I am a King's Ranger?" He asked the men. They all nodded as they tried stanch the flow of blood from their wounds. "I've been tracking you lot since you left Crestfell, and if you had been any louder a band of drunken Skandians could have followed you." He put as much wounded pride into that statement as possible. A Ranger's tracking was his bread and butter, and it was never any fun if they prey made it easy.

He threw off his kicked pride and got on with his speech. "So you know that if I wanted to I could hang the lot of you for trying to rob this young woman." Again they all nodded. Ara shivered. He wasn't reassuring her in the least. "However I've been riding for two days and I doubt any of the trees around here could support your weight." He paused to chuckle at his own joke. Ara had perked up at the Ranger part.

Though she didn't relax. "So I think an arrow through the hand and the leg is enough to teach you a lesson. Am I right?" The nodding got extremely vigorous at the last question. "Good. Run along now. And don't let me catch you again." It took them a minute to assemble themselves, but they ran out of the clearing in earnest.

It was only after the last sound of the leader's yelp cleared the air did the young man release the tension of his bow string. He made a soft clocking sound with his teeth and a tiny barrel shaped horse stepped into the clearing.

"You're a Ranger." Ara blurted.

The tall man threw her a smile. "Yes. I'm Gilan." He gave her a slight bow as Ara scrambled to her feet. Her mouth was hanging open as she stared at Gilan.

"Are you the same Gilan that went to Arridi to recuse the Skandian Oberjarl?" she breathed.

Gilan stopped fussing over Blaze to look at the girl. Not many people outside of the rescue party knew about that particulate mission. "And who would be asking?" He questioned. Blaze moved around him to get a better look at the girl.

Ara pulled herself up to her full height. Which she thought was rather impressive. She barely came up to Blaze's shoulder. Something Blaze thought was rather cute. "Ara daughter of Umar el' then, Wakir of Al Hassan." This announcement was usually met with reverence, but Gilan just looked at her. Ara's pride deflated a bit. "I'm Selethen's niece." That was the last trump card she was holding.

Gilan's ear twitched at the mention of the tall Arridi Wakir. "You are a long way from home. Is something wrong with Selethen?" He asked her.

Ara shook her head, "No sir. I..." she started to answer him but it died on her lips. How could she tell him what her real purpose of her trip. Would he laugh at her? Would he send her back home with her tail between her legs. "I want to be a Ranger," She figured going home wasn't the worst thing that could happen.

Gilan stopped unpacking his roll and looked up at her. Now it was his turn for his jaw to flap open. "You want to be a King's Ranger?" He wanted to make sure he had heard her correctly. He was seriously dumbstruck. Not that there weren't boy who wanted to be Rangers, but they were boys and they were Araluen.

Here was an Arridi girl, very far from home, apparently without permission and she was asking to join the Rangers. "Why?" He asked lamely.

Ara shuffled her feet as she looked down. It was hard to explain. Or rather she always had to explain to people who dismissed her doing anything but marrying a man her father picked out for her and becoming a pretty wife and baby making machine. Ara sat back down in her original spot before that ugly episode. She motioned for Gilan to sit and relax. Her father was still going, and there was a little bit of food left.

He accepted her hostility with a gracious smile and a ravenous hunger. He tore into a chicken leg as Ara explained herself. "My mom died when was barely six. My mom, Aliyah was." The tears welled up in Ara's eyes, but they were happy as she talked about her mother. "She was a force you know. Everyone wanted to be around her. She could woo anyone. People just fell at her feet and begged for just a little bit of her attention." She wiped the tears that were free falling from her eyes.

"And she was smart. The top of her class and everything. My grandfather was grooming her to be Wakir. The first ever female Wakir. I mean that's just not something women do in Arridi. We are supposed to be seen and not heard you know. Pretty decorations." Ara spat. She took a deep breath to continue speaking "And if she had lived she would have been the Emrikir. She told me she wanted to make a difference, to be more than just another pretty face in the crowd having babies. My father always said I had that same fire in my eyes." Ara stopped talking to bustle around to keep the fire going.

Gilan was grateful for the attention that Ara was giving him. It was always nice to be fussed over by a beautiful girl. "My mother died when I was young too. My father was grooming me to be a knight, but I had um...other plans." He smiled around the chicken leg he was tearing into.

Ara sat back and allowed him to finish eating. She wasn't in a hurry. It was just her luck that one of the famous Rangers that her uncle told her about is her rescuer. Ara poured him a cup of coffee, to which Gilan could have kissed her for. He mentally winced as he thought of the crack over the head Jenny would have give him for the thought.

Ara watched the tall Ranger as he ate. He was painfully handsome with his dark hair and soulful eyes. Ara was not used to seeing Araluen so the creamy color of his skin was fascinating to her. She wondered how he would look after a few minutes in the Arridi sun. His lips were little pink heart shaped protuberances on his face.

He drained his cup as he looked over at the kettle. He longed for another cup, but Halt and Will were trying to cut down and he felt he needed to follow their example. "Well Ara. I can't say yes or no to you joining the Ranger's. We've never had a girl Ranger. But I will take you to the man that can." He nodded. It was the best he could offer her.

Ara nodded, "Deal." A grin danced across her face.


	3. Proving a Point

Ara could barely sleep that night. She tossed and turned so much in her little one man tent that she woke up the next morning nearly strangled to death with the canvas of the tent. She let out a startled cry and thrashed about trying to free herself from the confines of her tent.

Gilan had to help untangle her so that she could stand. "A little nervous?" He asked with a slight chuckle. Swiftly he cut her out of her tent and blankets.

Ara blushed, but ducked her head in thanks for his assistance. "Only a little." She had only been dreaming of this day since she was a little girl. Well littler, she had to admit. She was barely the height of an average 10 year old girl. And she was 15. Ara stretched and groaned, as young as she was the way she slept had not helped matters. Her muscles were a collection of nervous knots and snarled tendons.

She slowed her breathing and slowly begin the yoga technique her uncle had brought back for Ni-hon. Concentrating and keeping her breathing easy helped her work through the tangles and pain of her sore and overworked muscles. Gilan watched her. He had missed the Ni-hon campaign, she he had no idea what she was doing. Once she was done and she appeared none the worse for wear she ate a cold and fast breakfast of jerky and hard biscuits.

They quickly broke camp and saddled up. Bluebell and Gilan's horse seemed to have gotten along as they trotted down the highway in pace with each other. It was a strange little horse that Gilan was riding. The beast was shaped like a wine barrel with short little legs and a shaggy coat. It looked like a large dog, but Ara didn't want to insult Gilan by telling him that. Ara couldn't help comparing the mare to the stallion she had owned in Arridi.

Gilan seemed very partial to the horse despite its apperance. "My uncle says you Rangers talk to your horses," Ara blurted before she remembered to keep a firm hold on her tongue.

Gilan chuckled again and Ara found she liked the sound of his laughter. "Sometimes we do. You spend a lot of time alone when you're a Ranger. Its good to have your horse along to bounce ideas off or just someone to talk to." He patted Blaze's neck and the horse nickered softly in response.

Ara nodded, thought she didn't really understand how someone formed an attachment to a horse. For the Arridi a horse was a way to get around. It was a beast of burden, not an intelligent being to be talked to. She could not see the attachment. A horse was a mode of transportation. No higher up the food chain than sand surfing.

Which was one of the things Ara was missing the most. After her father and friends of course. But she rationalized that it would be no different if her father married her off to a Wakir in one of the outlaying provinces in the Northern part of the country. She would miss him and her friends just the same.

She looked over and was startled to see that Gilan's mouth was moving. He had been asking her a question and she had been daydreaming, "I'm sorry. What did you say?" she asked.

He pointed down to her saber. "I was asking if you were any good with that toy." If anyone else had called her saber a toy her anger would have flared up but she didn't think Gilan was trying to poke fun at her, or worse. Treat her like a girl.

Her hand drifted down to the handle of her saber. Her mother's saber. A gift from a dying woman as she laid upon her death bed. "I was the best at the Academy, but that doesn't say much. Those boys weren't trained and they never tested me because I was a girl and my father was the Wakir." Ara was more than self aware about her abilities with the saber. She knew she was better than most, but she knew there was always a chance she could be bested. A chance, a smile quirked at the corner of her mouth.

Gilan nodded, but didn't speak on the subject again. He seemed lost in deep thought. Ara was dying to pepper him with questions, but her father always told her to listen more than she talked. So after that brief exchange they road in silence.

It was uncomfortable, but it was still a test of Ara's patience. Ara was a talker, and a mover. She always had to be doing something, but she felt like this was some sort of test from Gilan. So she was going to do her best to pass it. She didn't want to fail and get sent back home. She wasn't entirely sure her father would welcome her with open arms. There was going to be a stern lesson in there and it was one she wasn't keen to learn.

It took them nearly 3 days to reach Castle Araluen. Ara was saddle sore and majorly grumpy. She had never spent so much time in the saddle, nor quiet. Gilan had dragged his lesson out for the entire trip. Well except for the grunts and nods during dinner and lunch.

The second day Ara had been so mad at him for not speaking to her she hardly noticed the third day of them not talking. Ara could be as stubborn as a mule, as evident by her rash decision to run away from home, hire a Wolfship and travel aimlessly around a foreign country looking for a group of men who couldn't be found unless they wanted to.

Ara had to rein in Bluebell as her mouth flopped open as Castle Araleun loomed on the horizon. "Man built that?" she croaked. Her voice felt strange in her ears after three days of not talking.

Gilan nodded. A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. He was surprised that Ara was speaking to him. He knew she was cross at him for being silent, but if there was one thing a Ranger had to learn, it was how to be still and be quiet. Patience was the the key to victory in a lot of cases. And, if she didn't have the fortitude to not talk when she was with someone if she were out in the field alone she might talk to herself to pass the time and it might get her killed.

He saw the resolve on her face at the end of the first night and he felt the flare of pride that she had spotted the test so quickly. He hadn't and he was doubly sure that Will never had either.

They had finally gotten onto the King's Highway that ran all the up to the castle itself. It was one of the few paved roads in the kingdom. It made for an easier ride and Gilan wished they could pave the whole of the kingdom. Riding was murder on his backside, thought Blaze was a trooper of a horse.

Ara marveled at the stonework of the highway, but not for long.

The castle was the most spectacular thing she had ever seen. If you had taken the most spectacular pastry she had ever seen it would pale pitifully against Castle Araluen.

The castle didn't look like a grey mash of wet cement. It was a gleaming cream edifice with spires doting the landscape that soared up in the heavens where the standard of the King flapped sharply in the wind. It was a distant sound, but the echo reached her ears clearly.

It hurt Ara's eyes to look up that high. She wondered how the men had be able to build it. Surely they had to work at night to avoid getting sun stroke, but she gathered that Araluen didn't get nearly as hot as Arrdi.

The castle was topped with turrets that stood as permanent sentries against invasions. It was a vision in stone. Ara guessed it was marble or granite. And the darn thing was the biggest single structure she had ever seen. It wasn't possible for her to see the entire thing in one sitting. You could gathered up all the stately homes of all the Wakirs in Arrdi and put them in Castle Araluen and you still would have had room enough for an army to tuck in for the winter.

The stone looked like it was made from sand, but Ara knew different. Sand wouldn't be strong enough to hold up a building of that size.

They rode abreast and Ara tried to take in everything but it wasn't possible. The city surrounding the town was bursting with activity and noise. Ara wasn't the country girl that many of her cousins were. Eking out a living in the desert of Arrdi. She was a high born noble girl in a thriving town, but this was a city.

She wanted to just sit in the middle of the street and watch everyone going about their daily lives, bur Gilan didn't pause to allow her the liberty. He rode up the street as if he owned the place and people allowed him to pass. A few give him frightened looks as they dashed behind the safety of a door or in a darkened alley. Rangers were still treated with kid gloves. It was better to be safe than sorry they felt.

Some smiled and dipped their heads. It was a most curious thing for Ara. But she got nothing but opened mouthed stares and pointed fingers.

Most Araluens had never ventured beyond the shores of the kingdom and none had seen an Arrdi before. Ara's coffee colored skin and catlike honey brown eyes were the most exotic things any of them had ever seen. Her curtain of blue-black hair billowed out behind her as she rode. Many of the young boys were rapped sharply a top the head for staring too keenly or long.

A deep blush burned on Ara's face. In Arrdi Ara was pretty yes, but she paled in beauty to some of her friends. In Araluen she was beautiful.

It will still nearly a hour ride before they arrived at the castle proper. If her eyes could have gotten any bigger they would have. Ara felt dazed at the snatches of city life she had been able to get. She was itching to be let loose on the city and explore things for herself. The sights and sounds had her curiosity burning like a lump of scorpion cake in her belly.

A pair of guards nodded them through the gates of the castle which Ara theorized could have held the entire population of her town and the neighboring villages with room to spare for the animals.

The castle wasn't made of any stone Ara was familiar with, instead of looking like a dull arrow head the castle gleamed like poured milk. One stone was easily the size of the wagon wheel. It was an engineering marvel.

They dismounted and a pair of neatly dressed stable hands took their horses away to tend to them. "Well she be alright?" Ara asked. Bluebell hadn't been her horse for long put she was fond of the beast and she was a good horse. She didn't want anything to happen to her.

"She will be well tended." Gilan assured her as he strode across the expansive courtyard toward the towering massive doors of the castle.

Ara had to scramble after him to keep up. Gilan was a great deal taller than her and he hadn't realized that his stride was nearly five of Ara's.

No one barred their way nor stopped them so she assumed they knew him and where he was going. The ceilings of the castle soared overhead to the point where Ara stopped trying to find where they ended. Courtiers, castle staff, city folks and others scurried to and fro as they went about their daily business. Now this Ara was used to. As a Wakir, Ara's father had to settle town business and hold open court sessions. Of course her father only saw maybe a dozen people a day. This group looked closed to a hundred people. She wondered how the King was able to see everyone.

They walked through the palace. Ara felt like a tiny fish inside of a big whale. It was hard for her to see everything just as in the city, but she was going to try. And try she did. They were passing the Great Hall and she could hear that court was in full session. There was a long line of petitioners milling about waiting for their turn in front of the King. There were nobles in all of their court finery rubbing elbows with peasants and farmers in their best patchwork clothing.

She had to hurry to keep up with Gilan's long strides. He was halfway down the corridor before she reached him.

Ara nearly tripped over the long skirt she was wearing. She tried to twist away to break her fall, but a pair of muscled arms caught her a mere inches from the floor.

"Mind the first step," the voice rumbled as Ara righted herself. Gilan stopped to see that she was alright.

"Nice catch Horace. Or is it your majesty yet," Gilan slapped the mountain man on the shoulder and they embraced fiercely. Ara's bones groaned in protest, she was still sandwiched between the two friends.

The mountain called Horace laughed at the rib. "I will leave the fate of the kingdom to Cassandra." Ara's heart was racing away in her chest like a run away horse. She recognized the names of course. It was like her dreams were walking and talking like normal every day people. She wanted to touch him to make sure he was real and this all was not some sort of dream induced by a sun stroke.

"I think our friend here is about to faint again." Horace said finally turning back to look at Ara who was being to vibrate and turn pale from the excitement, and holding her breath. "I didn't mean to be rude. "I'm Horace." He held out his hand and Ara gulped as she slipped her tiny hand into his massive one. He was surprisingly gentle and his hand was warm. He gave her the smallest of squeezes then released her hand.

"Ara." she managed to squeak out.

"Horace, this is Selethen's niece." Horace started and stared closer at Ara. She tried not to fidget at her Araluen clothes. Arridi women just didn't wear so many layers.

"Is Selethen with you?" He looked around with a gleam in his eye. Ara's heart fell at the excitement on his face. She had no doubt that her uncle would have accompanied her if she had only asked him. But he would have also told her father and he would have battled a lion before he left her leave the city let alone the entire country.

"No I um...came alone." she said shuffling her feet and almost wringing her hands dry on her clothes.

"Is something wrong?" his stance went from relaxed to battle mode so swiftly that Ara was taken aback. She could see how this mountain of a man became a legend across the known world.

"Oh no nothing is wrong. In fact uncle is engaged." Ara hastened to add.

Horace's hand lifted from his sword and his face broke out into a grin, "Well that is exciting news for the old goat. Is that why you're here. Delivering a message?" The years spent in the company of Halt and Will had done nothing for the exercise of his mind.

Gilan coughed, "I see Will is starting to rub off on you. If you would give me a chance I will explain why Ara is here." He was smiling so Ara didn't take it as a outright rebuke. It was a friendly jab between friends. "Ara here wishes to join the Rangers." She stood up straighter at his proclamation.

A cart horse could have parked comfortable in Horace's open maw. He looked Ara up and more critically now. "She's a girl." He finally blurted out.

Ara's temped flared, "Evanlyn and Alyssa were just girls but I seemed to recall them helping you men out of tough situations. My uncle told me about their bravery and cunning." She didn't care if she was talking to one of her uncle's good friends and a hero to her family.

"Both of them were a lot older than you when they did that. You can't be more than 12 or 13." He retorted.

"I'm 15." She answered back stamping her foot. Ara knew she was a tad on the small size, but that shouldn't be held against her. Their shouting match was starting to attract a crowd. Ara stepped back and drew her rapier. "You have insulted me sir. A highborn lady of Arrdi." She dropped down into her fighting stance. "Without a champion I am forced to protect my own honor. Stand and fight." Her brown eyes flashed with anger.

Gilan's mouth dropped open and Horace just stared. People in the crowd started shuffling their feet. They may not have known the small Arridi girl but they knew Horace. He was one of the best swords in the realm.

"You can't be serious." Horace sputtered.

"You are telling me a lot of things Sir Horace and none of it are things I want to hear. Stand and fight or admit you are wrong and offer me an apology." Ara's blood was boiling at this point. She couldn't remember a time she had been this upset.

"But girls can't be Rangers." Horace's face was turning an unnatural shade of red, and he was still trying to keep from having to fight the girl. Which he was not going to do.

All of this was beyond amusing for Gilan. Who was not present at the Great Arridi debate when they had to go and rescue Erak.

"Why not? And you're a knight. Not a Range how do you get to make that choice." Ara could feel the ends of her hair crackling with anger. If there was one thing she hated it was to be told that she couldn't do something simply because she was a girl. And she was never going to back down from that fight. Horace was stalling and refusing to fight and Ara was not going to stand for the insult to her person without a sound she darted forward to engage Horace.

To his credit Horace was one of the best swordsmen, but he had never fought Ara and she was born with a saber in her hand. He barely had time to jerk back before Ara laid open a tiny cut on his chin. Gilan leapt out of the way and danced aside. If there was going to be blood shed he did not want it to be his own. He had just had his cloak cleaned.

Horace's sword slithered from his scabbard in time to bat away a underhanded cut from Ara. He grunted in surprise at the strength and sting of the cut. It had been a long time since anyone had drawn blood from him.

Ara staggered back from his block. She hadn't countered on his brute strength. She recovered quickly and she pushed off the floor with her left foot and went for his legs with a leg sweep. With Horace's height he was used to fighting men relative to his height and Ara knew that.

Horace had to bend down at a unnatural angle to defend his knees. He swung a two handed at her neck. The wind ruffled her hair when Ara ducked under his hand. He reversed his grip and swung at her head. She had to slide across the floor flatten like a rug on the floor to avoid being decapitated.

She scissor kicked out and with a vicious swipe she kicked the back of his knee and Horace dropped like a sack of potatoes with a startled grunt.

With the speed of a mongoose she leapt onto his back with her saber pointed down at his neck. There was a collective gasp from the audience.

There was a single source of applause as both combatants panted after the exchange. "Yes Horace, please tell us all why this young woman can't be a Ranger." An amused feminine voice asked.

Instantly Ara backed off and allowed Horace to stand. His entire face with bright red and a vein was throbbing on his forehead. Everyone turned toward the voice.

The people gathered all dipped into a bow before the woman. A rather striking golden haired woman was gliding through the crowd as it parted like water before her. Ara thought she was gliding because she couldn't see her feet and that to the fact that in all the layers of clothing she must have been wearing she was not making a sound as she walked. Ara had no idea how the woman survived wearing so many layers of clothes. It would a continuing source of irritation for her.

Gilan still chuckling from the exchange took a deep bow, to which the woman giggled. "Your majesty." He reached for her hand and give it the lightest of kisses.

"Oh Gilan. Honestly I think we are a bit past this." But she returned his bow with a little curtsy. "But Horace do enlighten us, please" Ara liked this woman already. She wasn't going to be distracted from her inquiry.

Horace had begun to look grateful that Gilan had saved him from the fire, but now he was back in the frying pan. "Um well. She's just. And then you know she won't be able to..." He was floundering and his face was getting redder the more he went on. Which was a magnificent feat seeing as how his face was so red from the fight with Ara to begin with.

The woman folded her hands across the front of her gown and refused to offer him a lifeline. Ara certainly wasn't going to help him out of this hole he had dug for himself. "It is more than obvious that she is a very capable young woman. And there is nothing that says she can't at least be put forth as a potential apprentice." Cassandra replied simply.

Gilan was having the best time he had since his last date with Jenny. His delighted eyes went from Cassandra back to Horace back to Cassandra again.

Horace finally looked defeated as he looked around at all the faces. He turned to Ara and bowed to her. "Forgive me my lady for the insult to your honor." It should be noted that Horace took honor very seriously.

Ara's father had always taught her never to gloat in the face of one she had defeated. Ara dipped her head to Horace. "I'm sure if you hadn't been hindered by your reluctance to engage a girl you would have cut me to ribbons." She offered him. The tension in the corridor evaporated and a few people chuckled. Horace smiled down at Ara.

"Where did you learn sword work?" He asked as he dabbed at the thin line of blood on his chin. It wouldn't scar so he wasn't fussed about the bruise to his ego.

"My mother." Ara told him simply. Horace inclined his head again.

"She must have been a fearsome woman." Cassandra said. "Well you and Gilan must be saddle sore from your ride. Please make yourselves comfortable and I insist that you both join us for dinner." Horace nodded at the suggestion. "Will, Lady Alyssa, Halt and Lady Pauline should be arriving soon and we do have a surprise to share with everyone. I am afraid the duties of a princess do not halt for introductions. I will see you all tonight." Ara followed Gilan's lead of bowing again before the royal party moved on. Horace gave them a small smile and hurried after his wife.

The rest of the crowd went back to their daily chores or business. Ara placed her saber back into its scabbard and turned to look at Gilan. "Sorry," she said. She knew that look. It was the same look her father gave her when she did something great in the midst of doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing in the first place.

"While that was some fancy sword work its not a good idea to attack the future king because he upset you." Ara dropped her gaze as her cheeks grew warm. "Let's go see the Commandant." He turned and continued that way they had been heading before the confrontation with Horace.


	4. A Dream Realized

Ara wore the look of a spanked puppy as she followed in Gilan's wake. She barely noticed the rest of the castle. The Arridi people had hot tempers, not as hot as the Toscanian people, but it was there. But Ara knew she was wrong, but she couldn't hid that vein of pride at beating the Oakleaf Knight at his own game. If nothing else she would have that to take back home. Her friends would never believe her if she told them. They never believed the stories her uncle told them.

They wound their way through the castle. It was just as big on the inside as it was on the outside. Ara was still marveling at the sheer size, and why there was a need for something to be so large. It was just the King and his daughter. How many rooms did they need, Ara thought to herself.

They finally seem to reach the end of their journey. Or so Ara thought, but Gilan turned and headed up the stairs to the towards the top of a tower. It was a curious design to make the stairs wind up in a circular fashion.

Every few stairs a thin cutout in the stonework allowed a sliver of bright sunlight to spill in. "Why aren't these proper windows?" Ara wondered out loud.

Gilan stopped to turn around and look at her. "So shooters can position themselves in here to shoot advancing enemies as they stream into the courtyard. Its big enough for them, but too small for return fire." He explained.

Ara started at him. Her brown eyes wide with shock. She looked out onto the courtyard wondering how many people had been slain. Gilan left her to her thoughts and continued up the stairs. They reached the top of the tower that began with a short landing. The landing was bare, but it ended with a solidly built wooding door with iron rivets up both sides. Gilan had to nearly beat his fists against the door to make a sound. Ara wasn't sure whoever was inside could hear the pounding but a moment later the door swung open.

"Gilan I wasn't expecting you back so soon." A rather short tall blonde man exclaimed. Ara was shocked at how small the man was. Gilan was the first ranger she had met, and she expected all of them to be as tall as he was. She guessed her uncle was not exaggerating about the stockiness of the rangers. "And who have we here?" Gilan stepped aside so that man could get a good look at Ara.

"This is Ara. Niece of a Arridi friend. Found her in the woods beating up on some thugs I had to arrest." There was a tread of amusement in his voice. "Ara this is Commandant Crowley of the Ranger Corps." Ara was not entirely uncouth. She did have a bit of home training, thank you father.

She gave him a little curtsey.

He let out a great bark of laughter. "Why she's no bigger than a sparrow." Crowley winked to show that he didn't mean any insult. Ara gave him a small smile holding back the remark that he was no bigger than she was. She she came up to his stomach, but she hadn't hit her growth spurt yet. She could still turn out to be a tall beauty. Like her mother.

He stepped aside and motioned for them to enter into his office.

Now Ara had grown up in her father's office. He was the Wakir of a large provence after all. Her father's office had been at the top of a small squat structure in the middle of town. All four sides boasted floor to ceiling windows that were open the elements during the day for a cross breeze. His office was decorated in the warm sand tones of Arridi. Plush lion pelts covered the tiled floor. Giraffe hides covered the chairs and couches in the lounge area. Her father's desk was a heirloom piece, crafted in Picta and sent to her great grandfather as a gift for trade relations of coffee and textiles. The desk was a solid hand crafted piece of ebony wood. It was as long as a tall man standing up and as wide as two men laying shoulder to shoulder. It was as heavy as an ox and once it was placed it hadn't budged. Her father's office had always had the air of activity about it. Parchment, ink wells, quills, abandoned cups of coffee, scrolls, leather bound tomes of law lay scattered about the place at all times.

Calling Crowley's office bare was a gross understatement. Nothing covered the floors nor the walls but stone and more stone. The room contained a desk a chair and a ink well. It was a study in Spartan design. There were two picture windows flanking the right and left walls. It was a great view that opened out onto the manicured grounds of the castle."Do you work here?" Ara asked with a rise of her slender brow.

The man chuckle, "Well it would seem so." He closed the heavy door and sat down behind his desk. Ara hadn't heard him move. Most people shuffled, grunted, squeaked, made some sort of noise. But not Crowley. It was uncanny to say the least. "So I am curious to this surprise visit Gilan. I thought you were going back to Redmont to fetch Jenny."Ara noticed Gilan's cheeks flushed at the mention of this Jenny.

Ara fought the urge to giggle like a school girl. She rather liked this blushing Gilan and not the one calming explaining the dogs of war to her. "Ara here distracted me, and Jenny was coming in with Halt and Lady Pauline anyways. So I thought I would run down a lead on some highway robbers. Ara had them almost taken care of by the time I rode up." He explained. Gilan took a deep breath before he continued. Ara sucked in a breath waiting for him to continue. "The little sparrow here wants to be a ranger." Ara stood up straighter and fixed Crowley with a unwavering stare. It was good to always appear confident.

Crowley steepled his fingers in under his chin to peer at Ara. She felt every imperfection as the time yawned before her. "She's a bit small isn't she," he finally said.

Ara stepped forward, but she bit back the retort that had bubbled up her throat. This was not the time to prove anything. This man didn't look like the type to be swayed by passionate words. But he was one to talk about someone being small. She could clearly see that he had to sit at the edge of his chair so that his legs didn't dangle.

"Commandant, she is no smaller than Will was." He looked back at Ara, her cheeks beginning to burn. She hated people talking about her while she in the room like she wasn't in the room. "Ok a little smaller than Will, but she is great with the sword and she did travel all the way here from Arridi on her own to join up."

The Commandant leaned back in his chair as he considered Gilan's words, "Well there is nothing that says a girl can't be a Ranger. We just never had one that wanted to join." He said to himself. "Are you ready for your own apprentice?" He asked.

Gilan started. "Me," he squeaked. "Why.." He gulped, "I thought Halt." He really hadn't considered taking on Ara himself. Ara's heart started to thump against her rib cage. Halt. Ranger Halt. The terror of Arridi with a bow in his hand. Would she really get to be his apprentice? The thought coursed through her veins like liquid fire. She had to fight to keep herself still. She forced herself to calm down, she was scared she would give herself a heat stroke if she didn't.

Crowley waved away his protests, "Halt has already fostered two apprentices. Some people might cry favoritism if I let him have another." He looked at Gilan. The small wrinkles at his eyes and mouth nearly leapt off his face as he smiled. "You were trained by the best Gilan. You are the best unseen mover in the corp not to mention the best with a sword. I see no reason why you can't take on an apprentice of your own. If agree to it, Ara is welcomed to be your apprentice." He laid out the proposal and left Gilan to his own devices to think it through.

Ara could hardly believe how easy that was. She wanted to bounce up and down on her feet as Gilan thought about the proposal. He was all that was standing between her life's dream and a miserable trek back home to her father. If she went back home her father would lock her away in a tower and never let her out. Not even to get married. The ceremony would be held in the tower. Her and her husband would live in the tower. She shuddered at the thought.

A battle was being waged in Gilan's head. The emotions were flicking across his face in rapid succession. It was a spectacular sight if you asked Ara, but then Gilan was trying to decide her fate. He was quiet for nearly 10 minutes. Ara was about to burst at the seams. She was never one to abide quietness and stillness.

Finally he looked up. Crowley leaned forward, so did Ara. "I would love to take Ara as my apprentice." He announced.

Ara couldn't help herself. She yipped and threw herself into his arms. She nearly knocked him over the back of the chair he was sitting in. She latched herself around his neck and squeezed. "Oh thank you so much. You won't regret it I promise." Gilan patted the girl on the back gently before detaching her from his neck.

He chuckled, "You won't be thanking me once you realize what you are in for." The serious tone in his voice gave Ara pause. A sinister smile spread across Gilan's face. "Don't worry it won't kill you." He said cheerfully.

Ara hoped so. Because she could go back to Arridi if she wanted someone to figuratively kill her. Her father was just about in the right mood for that right about now. The tower image flickered through her mind again.

"Well now that that is settled Ara why don't you head back downstairs. I'm sure we can rustle up a room for you. There is a dinner tonight and I am sure you want to rest and wash up before." Crowley sounded just like her father. Ara hoped that she would be treated as a real ranger once her apprenticeship started. Not that she was offended by his manner.

"Thank you sir," She dipped her and turn to wait for someone to open the door for her. A page appeared from the open door and motioned for Ara to follow him. She waved good bye to Gilan and Crowley who seemed to find the whole affair the most amusing thing ever.

The page retraced the steps down the tower and back into the castle proper. The sun was riding high but the warmth was still a fraction of how hot it would be in Farzi right now. She could almost feel the sand whipping across her face as she sand raced the local boys for the little bit of pocket money they carried around. As she followed behind the palace page she wondered if she could sand board during her apprenticeship. There was a lot more people in the palace then when her and Gilan had first arrived.

Just like before the people stopped and stared at Ara. Some of the little girls waved and giggled when she waved back. Many of the boys stopped and stared, tripping over their feet once they started moving again. Ara wanted to melt into the floor. She never liked being the center of attention, and this was torture to be on display like she were an amusing juggling act with a traveling caravan.

She picked up her pace and hoped that the page was going to lead her to a less public part of the palace for her sleeping quarters. She didn't have to wait long. The page lead her through a doorway and then up a wide sweeping set of stairs. She saw a few chambermaids and ladies in waiting scurrying off to do their work. They were more posed than the regular village folk as they didn't stop to openly gap at Ara, but she caught a few raised eyebrows and slowed steps.

At the top of the stairs they took a right and then a series of other turns that Ara quickly lost track of. This was more traveling than she had done in the saddle with Gilan on her way to the palace. They arrived at a wooden door that had been painted a delicate white. "Here you are Miss. Someone will fetch you for the dinner. You will find everything you need inside." He gave her a little bow before opening the door for her.

She stepped inside and thought she had died and gone to heaven. The room was easily the size of her entire house back home. It was a neat square room with a four post bed dominating the middle of the room. It was as fluffy as cloud, in a pale yellow color. Pillows on top pf pillows were piled on the bed. Ara's jaw was hanging open like a rusty gate.

The walls were covered in sea scape paintings and an echo of the bed coloring. She heard the door closing, but she didn't pay attention. The floor was covered in the softest fur she had ever felt. She wondered what sort of animal it was made from. Ara walked further into the room marveling at the fact that this room as in fact all hers. Not that she shared a room at home, but her bedroom was a quarter of the size of the room she found herself in right now.

To doors branched off from the room. One was a closet big enough for her entire class to fit in. The other was the most ornate bathroom she had ever seen in her life. A sunken tub sat smack in the middle of the room. With a wall or mirrors opposite the door. They had running water. Ara squealed like a little girl and ran over to the tub to test it out. A chain hung next to the spout. She pulled the chain and the water gushed out of the golden spout. Ara quickly stripped out of her traveling clothes astonished that she hadn't been aware of how long she had been in the clothes without a proper wash. Her mother would have been mortified to have worn the same clothes for a week while traveling.

Ara unbraided her hair as she waited for the tub to fill. A few bottles of colored glass sat a long side the tub. Ara uncorked a few a took a sniff. They were perfumes for the bath water. Not really Ara's style. Her friends loved the stuff, but in the oppressive heat perfume attracted bugs and you could be smelled 5 kilometers away. She turned the water as she slipped into the tub.

A contented sigh was the only sound she made. Ara leaned her head back against the pillow and wiggled her toes. The water was hot, but not enough to peel her skin away from her frame, but enough to soak the dirt away without too much scrubbing on Ara's part. She floated in the water on her back till her tired muscles relaxed.

By the time she was buffed and scrubbed like a new groat the sun had set.

While she had been in the bathroom some had come into her room and laid out a nice little party gown for her to wear. It was a hotter yellow than what was in the room, with dark blue trim around the hem and sleeves. The color went great with Ara's honey brown skin toned. She wondered who could have been that thoughtful.

The undergarments were a more sturdier than she was used to and she was sure she was going to be chaffed in all the wrong places by the time the evening was over. Getting into the gown was proving rather difficult as there were a lot more pieces and layers that Ara was sure should be considered torture. She pulled the cord by the bed and waited for someone to help her.

There was a knock on the door before a girl no older than Ara popped her head in. "Needing some help Miss Ranger?" The girl smirked as she saw the tangle of arms, legs, corset that was Ara and her outfit.

"Mffffptts." Ara squeaked. The girl had to help Ara's head through the neck hole before she could properly speak.

"What was that?" the girl asked once Ara's head was visible and her mouth was clear.

"How do you know that?" Ara rubbed her forehead where a small welt had formed from her trying to force her head through.

"Well you waltz into the palace and take on the king to be in a sword fight and win there's no hiding after that miss." The girl helped Ara step into a white petticoat. Then she helped her lace up the corset. It was more clothes than Ara had ever worn even at night in the desert. "Do you really want to be a Ranger?" she whispered as she started to help Ara with her hair.

"Since I was little and my uncle told me the stories about his Ranger friends I've wanted to be one." At first the girl was going to pin it up, but once the full effect of Ara in her gown with her hair down was seen she combed it out straight and left it hanging like a dark cape around Ara's shoulders.

"Be careful with those Ranger miss. They're a strange bunch they are." The girl nodded at her handiwork. Ara looked at herself in the mirror. She knew she was pretty but looking at herself she could see her mother under her features. With her face free from the usual dirt and sweat. Her mother's high cheekbones shaped her face. Her small mouth had a pouty quality, but the twinkle in her eye told you she wasn't a brat.

"Thank you," she whispered. The girl nodded once and motioned for Ara to follow her. Ara stepped into the yellow shoes to follow the girl down to the party.


	5. Surprise Dinner

They went outside and Ara was once again reminded of the climate difference between Araluen and Arridi. At home right now it would have been a balmy 100 degrees. Not a wind in sight to be hand. The only people out in the sun would be the people that hod nother other way to fed their familes except for the sweat of their labor.

Ara would have been indoors with the fans going and a servant with a cool drink standing by if she needed one. However with the clouds hanging low in the sky fat with rain she sort of missed the dry heat of home.

However today in Araluen she was trailing behind the lanky form of Gilan as they trekked deeper into the forest. A deeply wooded forrest at that. A deeply wooded forest that was chilling by the moment. Ara was still marveling at the abundance of trees in her new home. She couldn't wait till it snowed. She had never seen snow, but she had read about it.

She refocused her attention on Gilan and the task at hand. He was carrying his ever present long bow in one hand and a smaller bow. She had never seen a bow like that before and she was wondering if it was the one she was supposed to use.

There was no way she had the strength to string a long bow let alone actually notch an arrow. Her mind was off to the races as she thought of all the things she was going to learn as a ranger's apprentice.

She didn't notice that Gilan had stopped walking and she was still moving. Ara slammed right into the tight body of Gilan. The force was enough to knock her back on her tail. Gilan turned to look down at her, "Was that performance this morning a flash of brilliance?" He asked holding out his hand to help her stand up.

"No sir it wasn't" Gilan started as she called him sir. He wasn't sure if he liked being called that by his apprentice, but there needed to be a clear line between the two of them. He pulled her up and looked down at her. She sprang up lightly onto the balls of her feet. "It won't happen again." she told him confidently.

He nodded and stood back for her to see what his body had previously been blocking. It was a large clearing. Not as big as the one their cabin sat in but this one was big enough for several large, white targets to be set up at varying ranges.

Ara's heart started to thump in her chest. This was a shooting range and here she was going to learn to shoot. Something her father strictly forbidden. She felt scandalous at how excited she was to get her hands on a bow.

"I know bows aren't a standard Arridi weapon of choice, but you're a ranger in training now. And the long bow is our principle weapon. You have neither the skill nor the strength to use it yet so you will learn on this bow." He handed the over the bundle he had been carrying.

Ara unwrapped it and uncovered the most curious bow she had ever seen. Her face fell. "What is it?" she asked him trying to hid her disappointment. She was being given a little girl's bow. Not a proper one like he carried. "Is it a little girl's toy?" she asked finally not being able to hold back the burn at the back of her throat.

Gilan stared down at her. "Ara look at me." She took a few deep breaths before pulling her chin up and looking at him. "You are my apprentice. A Ranger's apprentice. You will be treated as such. You are not a girl, nor are you Arridi. Ranger's apprentice is all you are till you become a Ranger. I am not here for my health nor to teach you something you can gossip about with your girlfriends later. Now may I get on with the lesson or would you like to pout now?" He was going to have to help her get over that chip on her shoulder. And fast. Because if she reacted like this when there was no offense made how would she do when someone pushed her buttons before they knew it would get to her?

Ara let his words sink in before she gave him a small smile and a little bob of her head. He returned the smile before getting on with the lesson. "This is a recurve bow from the Temujai, and its sole purpose to help you learn how to shoot. All apprentices are taught on this before they move onto the long bow." He explained.

Ara shuddered. She knew who the Temujai were and she prayed that they never moved on Arrdi. Skandia only just managed to beat them back. "Can I try it?" she asked. Her eagerness had burned away the disappointment.

Gilan smiled, "Well if you think that's a good idea go ahead." He stepped back. Luckily Halt hadn't had to do this with him, but he knew that Will had fallen for it. So he was going to let Ara try it if she wanted to.

Ara grinned and grabbed a arrow from the quiver that she had unwrapped. She notched it against the string before pulling back with her little thumb and forefinger. Her arms trembled as she pulled the string back. She was barely strong enough to pull back the string on the recurve bow.

She aimed at the closet target only ten meters away and fired.

_TWHACK!_

The heavy bowstring slapped into the soft flesh on the inside of Ara's arm stinging like a scorpion. Ara howled in pain throwing away the bow like he was going to kill her. An angry red welt was already rising up on the sensitive flesh. The throbbing brought tears to her eyes, "Ow." she said looking up at Gilan with venom lacing her light brown eyes. She had to stop herself from kicking Gilan in the shin and breaking something.

"You're impulsive Ara." He wagged his finger at her. "Maybe that will teach you to stop and think things through before you rush into something." He said cheerfully retrieving her downed bow. He handed it back to her which she took with a scowl. She would have happily wiped that smirk off his face.

He bent down and pulled a stiff cuff from the bundle. He slid it up Ara's arm. It wasn't a snug fit but it would do the just the same.

Ara's face burned as she finally noticed that Gilan was wearing a similar cuff on his arm. "Ok give it another go." he prompted.

Ara selected another arrow and notched it. He stopped to correct her form here and her stance there. Showing her how to properly draw the string. Her shoulders burned and she struggled to hold the bow taunt.

The bow wobbled slightly and it was all she could do to keep it straight, but she did. She shot the arrow and her aim was true.

It smacked into the ten meter target with a solid twack.

She would have punched her fist in the air in triumph, but she didn't think it was an action becoming a Ranger so she refrained, but only just. "Well done Ara, but not nearly ranger quality. You need to practice." he announced. "But that is for another time. Put it down." Ara obeyed and waited. She was quivering with glee over hitting the target. She had never been allowed to touch something so dangerous and she had managed to shoot her first target.

Gilan handed Ara a double scabbard same as the one that sat on his hip. "These are Ranger knives." Ara couldn't believe that in one day she was doing things her father would have skinned a live lion before letting her do. It was so scandalous she was almost buzzing with giddiness.

She had to swallow twice to calm herself before she reached out for the scabbard. Ara carefully took the scabbard out of Gilan's hands. The knives were set one above the other. The one on top was the smaller of the two. She could only guess how sharp it was.

"Pull it out slowly." Gilan instructed. He could vividly remember when Halt had handed him his set of knives. He scratched at the scar running down his forefinger. Ara slide the top knife from the scabbard slow enough to test Gilan's patience. She was surprised at the weight. "Its been perfectly balanced for throwing." He slid his own knife and with a causal flick of his wrist sent it flying across the field.

It smacked into a tree with a satisfying thunk.

"That was...wow." Ara breathed. "Will I be able to do that?" she asked.

"Sure." Gilan said with a smile. She couldn't believe all of the great things Rangers did. A slow smile spread across her face. "With a lot of practice," he told her cheerfully. The smile vanished.

He showed her the other larger saxe knife as well. "This is for close quarters fighting. We Ranger's don't like to fight that way. That's why we spend so much time practicing with our longbows, but sometimes its unavoidable. I will show you how to use this, but with your sword skills we will work with that more." Gilan had been trained by one of the best swords in the realm and he could see that Ara had the makings of one of the greats as well.

She beat Horace after all and he was trained by the same master as Gilan. That had to be worth something.

They spent another three hours out in the woods. Gilan sat composing a letter for Jenny as Ara practiced with her recurve bow. He would stop to correct her here and there or to just watch her shoot. He was never going to finish his letter to Jenny and he hadn't seen her in nearly two months. He knew Jenny understood his job and his responsibilities, but it still pained him that he had to spend much time away from her.

Ara felt like her arms were made of burning hot lead when Gilan finally called her practice to a halt. She couldn't remember the last time she had worked that hard. Not even for her lessons. Looking at the targets her heart sank. Hitting a target 10 meters away once was good, but she had missed more than she had hit and her aim diminished the further away she went. She wasn't feeling so hot about her abilities at the moment.

"Don't look so disappointed. It takes years of practice to get up to Ranger level, and years we have." He clapped her gently on the shoulder.

"Thank you sir," Ara said softly.

"Call me Gilan alright. Sir makes me sound old. I'm hardly 25." He ran his hands through his hair.

"I just turned 15." Ara offered. To her 25 was old, but Gilan was a child compared to her father. He was nearly 50 years old she was sure. All of his hair was grey.

Gilan threw his arm around Ara's shoulder, "Come along then grasshopper." They headed back towards the cabin in a pleasant silence.

Ara was thinking of how great it was going to be to climb into her bed and just sleep for the rest of her life. She could actually smell the down feathers in her pillow and it was making her smile. She pulled on Gilan's sleeve to get him to stop. "Someone'e here." she whispered.

Gilan looked down at her, "How do you know?" He asked.

Ara had never before explained to anyone how she knew some of the things that she knew, but she felt that she could tell Gilan without him thinking she was barking mad. "I can see them moving. Nearly twenty meters back behind us." she whispered.

Gilan looked startled that she was so precise, but he glanced back. "Bad form Will. She saw you." he called into the trees.

Ara turned back as a small man seemed to step out of a tree trunk. He was wearing a Ranger's cloak. He threw his hood back, "How? I didn't move till you both walked past me." Ara's breath caught in her throat as she connected with the name Gilan had called him.

"Will Treaty?" she asked as he brown eyes going wide with awe.

Will gave her a little bow. "Well I hope so I'm wearing the underwear his wife put out for him." Ara couldn't believe how small he was. Gilan she thought was average height for a man. Certainly an Arridi man who were rather tall, but she scarcely believed the stories of the small Rangers that helped her uncle.

They had all seemed larger than life to her. So she was sure her father had been pulling her leg about how small Will Treaty was, but here Will stood not even half a foot taller than she was and Ara knew she was small for her age.

Even for a girl.

"But how did you see me?" He asked again.

Ara shrugged, "My mom's brother was born blind and everyone thought he was just going to be lame and they he was going to be a burden that needed to be taken care of so he learned how to see with his feet. He said its like seeing the vibrations people make when they move. He taught me how to see that way. Said it gave him excellent practice to have a little runt running around." She explained.

Her uncle went on to be one of the best generals in the Arrdi army and she had got her sight back. Ara felt it was a win-win for everyone involved.

Will and Gilan looked at her with their mouths hanging open. "Well that is certainly handy," Will said when he finally recovered his wits.

"So I guess this makes up for the ambush at the Gathering then." Gilan said with a elbow to Will's side. He had to bend slightly to do it.

"Yeah we're even." Will countered back.

They walked the rest of the way back to the cabin in a cloud of chatter. Ara was having a good time listening to the easy banter between Gilan and Will. It made her miss her friends back home. She wondered what they were doing right now.

She wondered if Fatima had finally gotten her father to start the marriage negotiations with Amar. She always thought the two of them would end up together. That thought brought her around to her father. Was he still looking for her? Did he realize where she was? Was he mad at her?

It wasn't until her mouth started to water at the delicious sent in the air that she was pulled out of her daydream. She hadn't seen Gilan put on anything, but she was glad dinner was ready now. Ara couldn't remember a time she had worked that hard in her life.

Ara stopped just short of the porch. A small man was standing on the porch of the cabin. He was as grizzly as he was wiry. He just stared down at Ara like she had done something naughty.

She caught herself straightening her ponytail and wiping off the sweat from her brow.

His face was stern and utterly unforgiving. "Its true I see." He folded his arms across his chest. "We're letting girls into the Ranger Corps now." The man said. Ara stiffened. "And not just any girl. Selethen's niece I hear." Ara could feel her chance to be a Ranger slipping away and she was close to tears.

She battled her emotions back. She was not going to lose it.

The door to the cabin opened and two women stepped out. One older and regal in her beauty. Her ruby gown billowed out behind her. Ara could imagine her holding court at one of her father's functions. She called all attention to her.

The other woman, younger and just as captivating at the older woman. "Oh Halt she is perfectly lovely and you are scaring her." The older woman said putting her hand around the man's arm. Ara started at the name Halt. "Forgive my husband." The older woman motioned for Ara to come forward. Ara gulped.

She was surprised that her feet worked properly. "I'm Pauline. Halt's wife." Ara was scared to shake the woman's hand. It was so smooth and refined. Ara knew her hand was right filthy and developing calluses. "Don't worry my dear. I'm married to a Ranger." Pauline took Ara's hand and gave it a strong shake.

"I'm Ara m'lady." She hoped that was the right honorific. She had head it said a lot around the castle.

Pauline giggled. It was a throaty musical laugh. "Well you three could learn a thing or two from Ara here about how to treat a lady. Come on in and lets leave the men to men things." Ara followed Pauline into the house with the other woman in tow.

Ara would rather had stayed on the porch with the men. She was a Ranger's apprentice now, so it wasn't like they weren't going to tell her Ranger secrets, but she wasn't going to say no to Pauline.

"I'm Alyssa by the way." The willowy blonde said holding out her hand. She gave Ara the same hearty handshake as Pauline. "I'm Will's wife." Pauline motioned for them to sit down in the spartan living room. Ara was glad that she had spent the morning cleaning up the place. "So I am guessing you have a right little tale about how you got here." Alyssa said.

"I took a wolfship here." She told them simply. She didn't know how much trouble she would get Olaf in if she blabbed about who had stowed her away on their ship.

"That is very enterprising though a touch dangerous for a young lady I have to say." Pauline added as she sat down with a cup of coffee. Since living with Halt she had developed a taste for the stuff. She was still working herself up to the honey.

"My mom wouldn't have thought so." Ara was sure her mother if she were still alive would have been proud of her. Well she wouldn't have stood in her way if she wanted to become a Ranger.

"What did your mother have to say when you told her what you wanted to do? From what I know of Arridi woman carrying out the King's justice isn't a career option." Alyssa asked.

"My mom was bit by a king cobra on a hunting trip when I was seven." It was the worst day of her life.

She had come home to find her father sitting in her room holding on to her favorite veil. He was just staring at the wall, not moving. The veil he was holding had been the one that she and her mother had stitched together. It had taken them nearly five months to get it done right. Neither of them were much in the sewing department. Even her aunt and cousins had given up trying to teach them. It had started out as something to do after dinner and before bedtime, but then it had turned into a matter of pride for both mother and daughter.

Ara had worn it during her first veil dance. She had been so proud of it. "Are you alright." Pauline laid a gentle hand on Ara's shoulder. Ara blinked away the memory to smile up at Pauline.

"Yes ma'am." After that it was easy, playful banter between the women.

Pauline knew that Halt never would have agreed to have a dinner with an apprentice if Ara hadn't been a girl and if Ara hadn't been related to a good friend of Halts. She couldn't being to imagine what Ara was going to go through as the first and only girl in the Ranger Corp, but after watching Will, Alyssa, Horace and Cassandra grow up nothing was going to surprise her. And as long as Halt was around Ara was going to be in great hands.

"How is she doing?" Halt asked as they all leaned back in the chairs on the porch with cups of coffee in their hands.

"Well its only the first day, but she is stubborn as a mule. She nearly worked herself into the ground just to prove that she could do it even though I purposely gave her hard task for a girl of her upbringing." Gilan answered. "Ara thinks she has a lot to prove because she is a girl and because she is small. Its going to push her to make mistakes." He knew that Ara was going to do something stupid one day that was going to get her seriously hurt if she didn't get rid of that chip on her shoulder.

"You must not remember being an apprentice." Halt said softly. Gilan looked at him. Was he getting crazy in his old age? The only things that kept Gilan alive were the things he remembered doing and learning as Halt's apprentice. "You just had to prove to the world that you were picked to be a Ranger because you were good and not because of who your father was." Gilan grew still. "You rushed into danger to prove you could get through it. So Ara isn't the first person with something to prove. You have to learn how to teach her without breaking her." Halt sat his cup down. "Its not your job to teach Ara how to be Ara. She has to learn that on her own. Its your job to equip Ara to be a Ranger. Watch her, study her, learn how she learns see how she reacts. Then adjust yourself to her. Not the other way around." It was the most Halt had ever spoken in one go. Will and Gilan were hanging on his every word as usual.

Halt sat with Will and Gilan sharing his wisdom with them. It was nearly time for Will to take on an apprentice and more than anything he wanted his former apprentices to make good masters. So he instructed them till Pauline announced it was time to bring the party indoors. Winter was coming to Redmont and it was no fun sitting on the porch with frost in the air.

Christmas must have come early because the little party went well into the night. Ara sat on the end of her seat as everyone retold some of their greatest victories. Ara was especially touched when Halt told them the story of Will's rescue from the Skandians.

Ara got to spend time with the very people who had given her life meaning. It was possibly one of the best nights of her life.

The next morning she left a small blue flower on Gilan's plate before breakfast. He never said anything about it but he did put it in a cup with water on the window sill.


	6. Ranger Training

They followed a slightly different route from the long one that the page took her one before her lovely bath. Ara was thankful for that. The shoes she was wearing made her doubt they were made for walking. Though they were extremely pretty.

She could hear music as they approached what she gathered was the dining room. The dining room doors were swung open with no apparent thought on Ara's part. She peeked into the room and was astounded by what she saw. These Areluan people know how to decorate a palace.

It was decked out as a piece of candy. Colored glass sparkled from every corner. The large table was already ladened with golden plates and crystal glassware. People were milling about talking in little groups. Some of them turned and smiled as Ara walked into the room. She hesitated a little. She was used to state functions with her father, but they were never more than 20 or so people. There was easily 100 people in the dining room.

"Ranger Apprentice, Ara." A herald announced. Ara nodded at the announcement. It rather made her want to run into a hole and hide, but she didn't think she could get very far in the getup she was wearing. She took step into the room holding her breath.

"It isn't to late to run away you know." Ara turned around to see Crowley smirking behind her.

"I didn't know they were going to announce me." She told him sheepishly. She shuffled her feet.

"They do tend to do that around here. They never understand us rangers wanting to be in the shadows."He clasped his hands behind his back. Ara noticed he was wearing a flowing green cloak and a silver oakleaf on a silver chain. While she was stuck looking like a walking cupcake. Mind you a beautifully decorated cupcake.

Crowley took in her outfit. "Pretty but you can be seen from the tree tops in that." He gave her a wink and melted back into the crowd of people waiting for dinner to start before she could think of a proper retort.

The music was coming from a tiny balcony the overhung the expansive dining room. It was a soft melody with a drowsy sort of beat. Nothing like the pulsing and pounding beats of Arridi music. She didn't think any one could belly dance to this music. She didn't think anyone would belly dance in the palace anyways. They looked too prim and proper for belly dancing.

But Ara was the only paying attention to the music. Everyone else had someone to talk to. Ara knew no one save Crowley and he was otherwise engaged with a rotund man with a bushy mustache. It was a wonder the man could eat anything without it being covered in hair. Ara giggled. It was a entertaining thought to say the least.

The Royal party hadn't made an appearance so dinner wouldn't be starting till they arrived. Ara had nothing to do, and she felt extremely out of place. Ara was easily the youngest person in the room. Well from what she could see. The people were nice enough, no one was out right mean to her, but it was times like these that her homesickness echoed hollow in her belly. She wandered around the party observing everyone. Even in her getup no one really paid her any attention. It was heaven. She felt like a sore thumb in her outfit, but the other girls were dressed as she was. It didn't make her feel any better.

Gilan found her a little while later. She was twisting the sleeve of her dress to tatters when she finally did. He was dressed the same as Crowley. Which didn't make Ara feel any better. She wanted to be dressed as they were. She looked no different than a little court girl. Suddenly she felt foolish and overdressed. She wanted to ask Gilan if she could go and change when a bell tolled.

The guest all turned to the closed double doors at the end of the dining hall. Ara had to step around a few people to see past them. She was not going to duck to look between their legs. That she was not going to do.

The doors opened. A young man dressed the same as Gilan and Crowley led the way. On his arm was a willowy blond girl in a pale blue gown. Ara's heart skipped a beat. She didn't dare whisper his name in fear he would vanish like an illusive dream, but she had no doubt he was the famous Will Treaty. He was no bigger than Ara herself was.

The girl on his arm must be Alyss, Ara thought. They were followed by an older pair dressed identical to Will and Alyss. Though the older woman had more of an elaborate gown with its silk and lace overlays. Ara couldn't stop herself from bouncing with excitement. Here in the flesh her dreams were moving and breathing. No longer were they stories her uncle told over gallons of coffee with the fire flickering in the hearth. They were real. Ranger Halt, Ara was sure of it. She wanted to rush over and pump him for information, but she couldn't very well do that while everyone was looking.

Finally the Royal party entered. Horace was escorting his wife Cassandra, and they were followed by King Duncan. Everyone stood as the parties walked around to their chairs. The King sat first and then everyone else moved to claim their chairs.

Ara found herself sitting next to Alyss with Gilan on the other side. Halt and Lady Pauline were across the table with Crowley sitting next to them. Once everyone was seated the food came. Boy did it come. Ara had never seen so much food. There were roasted pigs, boars and chicken.

The skin on the pigs glistened under the light. Platters of potatoes prepared several different ways. Strange vegetables that tickled Ara's nose, breads that looked softer then her bed floated past her. Her stomach growled and she realized how long it had been since she ate. She accepted something from every plate that passed under her nose. Who know food could smell this good? By the time she had done getting a little something of everything she wanted her plate resembled Horace's.

"Horace you might have to defend the title of bottomless pit." Crowley joked as he pointed his fork at Ara's plate. She had a chicken leg in her mouth, but her cheeks flushed. A few people laughed. Ara swallowed and smiled. Crowley gave her a wink. He wasn't trying to embarrass her. He was only teasing.

Dinner went on without any further incidents. Everyone seemed nervous. Especially the princess. She kept muttering to herself and picking at her food. Horace kept throwing her looks and asking questions with his eyes. Ara would have kept watching, but her stomach needed some serious attention.

Finally the desserts came. There were little cakes with pink icing. Fruit tarts with whipped cream dolloped on the top. Little chocolates in all manner of shapes and colors. Ara sampled them all. She noticed that all the rangers and Horace fell on the pots of coffee as if it were a invading army. Ara never saw the appeal of coffee. Especially not the Arluean coffee. It might as well been brown water for the strength it had. Now the Arridi knew how to brew a good cup of coffee. She ahd even packed a few pounds of it in her luggage. Her uncle told her it would come in handy if she ran into a ranger.

Cassandra stood and called for everyone's attention. Ara shoved her last piece of chocolate into her mouth as quickly as she could. "I want to thank you all for coming. I know I have been rather tight lipped about why I requested your presence." She smiled and everyone smiled back.

To Ara a reason to eat like this didn't seem like a terrible inconvenience to her. "I have an announcement to make and I couldn't think of anyone else to say this to." Everyone was on the edge of their seat. For Ara that meant she could almost touch the floor with her feet. "I'm pregnant." It took a minute for the news to sink in, but once it did the entire hall erupted in cheers and excited voices. The King and Horace looked stunned. Their faces frozen in bewilderment and shock. A cart house could have parked in Horace's open mouth.

It was pure bedlam after that. All the women were out of their seats surrounding Cassandra and peppering her with squeals and questions. All the men were sitting around like someone had announced a death sentence. Ara didn't know what to think. These people weren't her friends she had no right to be happy, but the stories her uncle had told her she felt like she did know them. She was going to get the chance to get to know them better than anyone else. She was going to become a ranger.

She clapped along with all the cheering. The band started playing again and it was nothing but a celebration after that. Ara wasn't sure how long the party went and she was not sure how she got back to her room. She didn't remember walking there that was for sure, but the next morning her head popped up from her bed. The sun was just peeking out from the clouds so it was still early morning. She climbed out of bed wearing a dressing gown. She really hoped it was a girl that changed her. She found herself blushing at the thought. She yawned and padded over to the bathroom fully intending to take advantage of those wonderful soaps again. There was a note tapped to the bathroom.

_Meet me at the palace gates a sunrise._

_Gilan_

Ara glanced outside. She only had a few minutes before the sun rose. She didn't want to be late for her first appointment. Ara flew through her room packing up everything. She didn't know if they were coming back but she didn't want to assume anything. She barely got her hair done up in a ponytail before flying out of her room and racing down the stairs. She scattered a few servants who didn't question or try to slow her down.

Ara was panting with sweat sliding down her brow by the time she made it to the gates. Right on time. Gilan was leaning against a post in the shadows watching her. It made him smile that she had tried so hard to follow his first command. She showed real promise. He moved to go to her, but stopped. Her head was swiveling around looking for him. He stayed where he was to see if she would find him.

She did a casual sweep of the surrounding area first. That's good, Gilan thought. Then she went back over the same area with smaller head movements, but her eyes kept sweeping back and forth. She was doing better than Gilan had done in his first few weeks as a apprentice. He dropped his smile as her eyes finally moved to his position. Her little nose lifted and he frowned. What is she doing, he wondered. She dropped her bag and stalked toward him slowly. He was safe of the folds of his hood he knew.

"You shouldn't eat jasmine rice if you are to try and hide from me." she said smirking as she poked him in the ribs. Gilan stepped out of the shadows.

"How on earth did you know that?" He asked more of awe than anything else. She had walked right up to him as if she knew exactly where he was.

"Jasmine was my mom's favorite scent. I could pick it up out of a crowded room stuffed with rotting fish, sweaty Skandians and palace ladies." Ara said with a shrug. She was trying to play it off, but Gilan knew better. He had been standing down wind from her. It wasn't possible that she had smelled the faint hint of jasmine from the rice he ate more than 10 hours ago.

"Well this is a good start to your training." He reached behind the post and hefted his own pack onto his shoulders. He nodded as she ran over to shoulder her own bag. She had great instincts. He didn't even tell her to pack her things. Not that he would have been upset if she hadn't He didn't tel her too, but he liked that he didn't have to tell that. A stable boy brought Blaze and Ara's little mare Bluebell out into the courtyard.

Gilan climbed up on Blaze as Ara climbed on top of her horse. He wanted to see how good of a rider she was so he clicked for Blaze to start off at a run. A Ranger horse could go from stock still to a flat out run in four strides, but Ara wasn't riding a Ranger horse. That would come later, but he still wanted to see what she could do.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Ara spur her horse on. She didn't use the reins or a slap on the rump. She was a natural in the saddle. Gilan smiled and turned to concentrate on where he was going. It wouldn't do for him to get knocked from his horse. How could he be her master is all she could remember was seeing him sprayed out in the dirt with a silly expression on his face.

Her tiny mare was pulling up to Blaze and Gilan was surprised to see how Ara was riding. She kept her body low over the back of the horse, but she wasn't sitting in the saddle. She was resting on her haunches a few inches above the saddle. Gilan forgot that the Arridi were expert horse riders. And Ara being the daughter of a Wakir would have been in a saddle before she could walk.

Ara and Bluebell matched Gilan and Blaze turn for turn. Ara kept pace with Gilan and her horse didn't seem to tire out like one of those giant battle horses would have. They rode west out of the capital city. Though Crowley as the Ranger Commandant had always lived in the palace there was still a ranger cabin in the woods. Last night Gilan had asked that it be prepared for him and Ara. Will and Alyssa were in the Redmont cabin and Gilan himself was in between appointments.

He almost forgot where the cabin was it had never been used, but he found it before it became apparent he didn't know where he was going. He slowed to a trot as the cabin came into view. Ara finally settled back into her saddle. Gilan marveled that she didn't seem tired from having stood for almost an hour on a running horse. It would make teaching her to shoot from a moving horse all the more easier.

He trotted Blaze over to the lean to toward the back of the cabin. Ara matched his movement. She unsaddled Bluebell and started to rub her down without being told. Gilan wondered how much he actually had to teach her. They worked quietly in the little stable. Once the horse were rubbed down, watered and fed Gilan led Ara over to the little cabin. He pushed open the door and was glad that a fire was crackling away in the fire place. Winter was fast approaching and this deep in the woods the frost was sure to worm its way into their bones if they weren't careful.

It was a stander Ranger cabin. The kitchen and sitting room were one big room. The kitchen was off in the right hand corner of the cabin with the sitting room taking up the rest of the room. A ladder beside the ice box of the kitchen led up to a sleeping loft. For guest of the Commandant. Three closed doors led off from the sitting room.

"That's your room." Gilan said pointing to the one on the right. "You can go and put your things away before the day gets started. Ara nodded and disappeared into her room. When the door closed Gilan went around the cabin checking to see if his instructions had been followed. Ara like Gilan had grown up with everything being done for her and when she asked them to. She was used to servants cleaning up her messes and making sure things were prepared for her. Being a Ranger she was going to have to learn to do everything herself. So though Gilan hated Halt for days for doing it he knew in his heart that it was one of the best lessons for him to learn. And it would for Ara as well.

He checked the firewood supply, the rugs, the kitchen pots and the food stores. He wished Will or Halt were here. Gilan could make food to eat, but those two were masters when it came to stews. He wanted to do his former master and his friend justice when they stopped by for dinner to meet Ara. He was standing in the kitchen thinking when Ara cleared her throat.

He hadn't heard her approaching. Ara was going to be a delight to mentor. He turned and he was standing in a pair of the leather breeches that he had asked to be placed in her room. She was wearing a deep green tunic that dropped almost down her her calves. He would need to get that tailored for her. Her hair was pulled back and pinned up behind her head. He briefly wondered how she would feel if he suggested cutting it. He said none of this to her. He didn't say anything. He walked over to the fireplace and sat down in the big armchair. He propped his legs up on the ottoman and looked at Ara.

She was standing in the same spot having followed his progress around the cabin. "Seems a little chilly in here to me." He said offhandedly.

Ara had given herself the pep talk in her room after Gilan dismissed her. She couldn't think of him as a friend anymore. She was his apprentice and he was the master. "There's not enough firewood." she answered quickly.

He glanced at the small pile of wood stacked beside the crackling fire. "So it would seem. What shall we do about that?" He asked with a lift of his eyebrow.

Ara wasn't sure of what answer he was looking for. "Go buy some more." she answered.

"So you think we have your father's money to just run off and buy the world?" He asked her. He saw the color drain from her face. Ahh she was coming around to it. "No Wakir money here Ara. If we want something done around here we have to do it." He leaned back into his chair and opened the book he had randomly placed on the table. "There is a ax beside the lean to." He opened the book and looked down.

Ara stood there for a minute as she tried to think about what he had just told her to do. She obviously was not accustomed to hard labor. This was going to be a grueling lesson for her. He didn't look up till she had walked outside. She marched over to the ax, but she stood there eyeing it. He knew she had never swung one before, but he wasn't going to help her. He was just going to watch.

Ara couldn't believe that she had traded a life of luxury in a warm climate to become a slave in the grips of winter town. Her father would skin everyone in sight if he saw what she was about to do. She grabbed the ax and walked over to the wood pile. There were pieces already lined up waiting to be split, but she had no idea how to do it. She picked up a piece and laid it flat on the tree stump. She swung the ax above her head. The weight of the head almost took her off her feet. She stumbled a bit as she brought it down at hard as she could. The piece of wood slipped of the stump falling on her foot. "OW!" she yelled dropping the ax and dancing around the area. The sting brought tears to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall down her face. If she dissolved in tears Gilan might send her home and that was a fate worse than death to her.

After a few minutes the pain bubbled down as she was able to try again. This time she stood the piece of wood upright. Swinging the ax made her arms wobble with the effort but she was able to bring it down in a deft swing. She was rewarded with the piece of wood splitting. Panting but excited from the effort she moved on to another piece. It took her nearly two hours to reduce the small pile to wood ready for the flames, but Ara was excited that she had finished. Her arms felt like a giant had been pulling on them, but she wasn't going to give up.

She hauled all of the wood into the cabin and stacked it beside the fire. Her hair was plastered to her head with sweat. She stood back as Gilan looked over her work. "I suppose its as good as we are going to get." Ara's heart sank into her shoes, but she kept her lip from quivering.

He walked back into the kitchen to fix himself a cup of coffee. Ara remained where she was. "We should do something about the dust in this rug I think." He poured a measure of honey into his cup and stirred it without looking up. Ara squared her shoulders and marched over to the rug. Putting all her strength into it she was able to yank, pull and roll the rug out the door. She had seen servants beat the dust out of a rug so that was no surprise for her.

The act of beating the rug however was a new experience and she wished Gilan had asked her to beat the rug first before the wood chopping. She barely had the strength to lift the rug over the rope that had been strung between two trees let alone the strength to lift the broom to properly beat the dust out. The sun was properly risen as Ara worked. It took her longer to clean the rug and by the time she was done her arms were trembling and she was slick with sweat, but she managed to get the rug rolled back into the cabin.

Gilan was back in his chair by the fire and this time he really looked up at Ara. He could see that she was done for the day. Ara was covered from head to toe in sweat and her usually browned arms were flushed red with effort and strain. She had been doing a man's job and she had one it without complaint nor one tear. And here she stood with her head held high. Gilen felt a surge of pride swell in his chest. He had to reward her. "Go get washed up for lunch." He told her. Though she tried not to show it he could see the relief on her face. He was glad of his decision. Though he was training a ranger he had to remember that she was still a girl, and a high born girl at that. He was still going to push her and make her the best, but he wasn't going to cause her harm doing it. Halt never hurt him.

He walked into the kitchen and set about making sandwiches for them. Though he was not the cook his mother was he was great at the easy things. Like slicing meat and bread. He was just setting the table when Ara emerged from the bathroom. She looked exhausted but she had a determined look on her face. "Thank you sir," she said sitting down and eyeing the food. He inclined his head at her thanks.

"So did you really travel here all on your own?" He asked breaking up the silence of their meal.

"Yes sir. My uncle bought me passage with some Skandians that he knew. Skirl Olaf. Olaf said he knew General Horace and that he would take me anywhere I wanted to go." Ara ate with the vigor of twelve men.

Gilan remembered a Olaf from the incident in the north that Will and Horace got into. Seems making friends with the Skandians was coming in handy time and time again. "You didn't tell your father?" he bite into one of the apple slices on his plate.

Ara's brown eyes widen as she tried to think of an answer. Gilan hoped she wouldn't lie about it. If she couldn't tell the truth then she couldn't be trusted to keep the King's secrets or the Ranger's secrets. She dropped her gaze back to her plate. "No sir. If I had told him where I was going he would have sent me to my aunt in the northern province." To be married off to the highest bidder to wanted to add but didn't. Gilan didn't want to show how happy he was that she had told the truth. They continued on in silence after that. It was pleasant enough and neither felt the need to keep talking.

They still had a few hours before Halt and Will would arrive a surprise that he didn't want to spoil so they had enough sunlight to get some other things done.

Ara got up and cleared the table. Gilan went into his room to start the next phase of the training. He pulled out his longbow and a bow for Ara. It was the recurve bow that all the apprentices started out with. "Let's start with some basic target practice." He announced. He saw the fierce joy that danced across Ara's face. If only she knew what she was in for.

Gilan chuckled to himself as she followed him outside. She wouldn't be smiling around the fourth hour of target practice.


	7. Present for Mi'lady

Ara couldn't remember a time she had done so much manual labor. She was accustomed to working hard at her studies. That was a given, but splitting wood and then beating a rug had been an experience to say the least and she was sure she was going to have to give an encore in the near future.

For the next few weeks her and Gilan rose well before dawn to train. First it was strength and conditioning training. Ara was using and building muscles she couldn't even name. Though she was better at the Nihon art of stretching than Gilan was. Then she was sent off on a mile long run around Redmont. Some days she was sent through the forest to retrieve hidden objects. They were always small, and they were always well hidden. Some days she found them all. Some days she couldn't find a single one.

After her run, and quick bath, came her daily chores. Ara never realized how much it took to keep a cottage running. The cooking, chopping, kneading, the water fetching, sweeping, polishing, and all the wiping.

The water consumption alone was enough to put Ara off baths. She now appreciated her father's servants more for keeping their gigantic house running as smoothly as they did. After choirs the real lessons started. Tracking, following, shooting, trapping, and botany were just a few of the lessons Gilan was teaching her.

At night after the dinner dishes had been scrubbed and put away was history and geography. It was her favorite time. During the day Gilan rarely talked above correcting this or that, but when the candles were low and the frost in the air he came alive. His eyes danced and he smiled and joked. Ara loved that. She was also teaching Gilan Arridi. He was a quick learner. They could hold entire conversations in Arridi now. She found it funny that the Ranger sometimes fell into Arridi without even realizing it. Ara never corrected him loving the sound of her native tongue in the strange land.

Before bed they played chess. Gilan had been delighted to find that Ara knew to play. There weren't many Rangers that knew how to play and even fewer that would play with Gilan. He took the game a little more serious than was necessary.

They fell into a nice routine. The days and the weeks started to fly by. She felt her homesickness lessening day by day. Of course she missed her father. That would never albeit, but she was started to think of Araluen as home.

As her training progressed she judged how well the day went by the amount of coffee she got in her cup every morning. She suspected Gilan knew how serious Arridi people took their coffee so thus he was using it as way to reward her without making her head swell over the little victories she won throughout the day. She didn't tell Gilan that she knew what he was doing, but she suspected he knew that she knew.

If she got a full cup it means that she excelled beyond what Gilan thought she should have. If she got half a cup she needed improvement. If she didn't get coffee it meant that either she had failed or that her temper had gotten the better of her. Some days she didn't get any coffee at all. She was letting her temper get in the way. She was trying to work on that.

Fresh from her bath she sat at the table hoping that Gilan had noticed her hard work. Today she had a full cup.

She couldn't hid the smile. Yesterday she had hit all of her targets. From five meters to the full 250 meters. She had done it from behind cover and out in the open. She was still using the recurve box, but already she could feel herself reaching the maximum draw strength of the little bow. Her slender frame was now supporting five more pounds of muscles. She had to let out the sleeves of her tunics already. She was going to graduate to the long bow any day.

"Pack a lunch today we've got a bit of a trek to make." He announced in Arridi before getting up from the table. It was Ara's signal to get the dishes done as fast as she could. Ara rose from her chair and got to her first choir of the day. Something important was happening today. She could feel it.

After setting the dishes out to dry Ara went to her room to get her traveling cloak, her quiver and bow. Though it was not the standard long bow Ara felt naked without it. She strapped her knife sheath to her hip as well.

Gilan was waiting for her on the porch when she finally emerged. He didn't say anything. He just started walking. Ara followed silently behind him. It was unusually for Gilan to be so quiet. He was always talking and Ara always felt free to talk as well. They were both lively people. On the few occasions that they had gone into Redmont she had had the pleasure of meeting the one person that could make the Ranger blush, Jenny.

It was as clear as the mole above her right eye that Gilan and Jenny were smitten with each other. Ara wondered why her father hadn't started negotiations with Gilan for the marriage contract. Of course she never let the thought slip out. She was quite sure Gilan would not have appreciated that one little bit.

So Ara was left wondering if he was taking her off to some dangerous unknown test that required his silence so that she could mentally prepare herself or if he was escorting her back to the harbor to put her on the wolfship to send her home.

So it was a silent trek through the woods. They were heading down an unfamiliar path and Ara tried to memorize everything around her in case this was just the start of the test. "Relax Ara. This isn't a test." Gilan chuckled from up ahead.

"How did you know I was thinking that?" she asked.

"Because I did the same thing. You forget I was an apprentice just like you. It wasn't that long ago I keep telling you." He smiled back at her and Ara relaxed.

It took them nearly three hours of walking to get where they were going. Ara expected to stumble onto a little village or hamlet by the sea. They had been walking so long. She was keen on seeing the sea again. In another life she could see herself as a seawolf skirl.

Instead Ara nearly tumbled into a rundown little cottage. Well it wasn't rundown the paint just hadn't been refreshed, but she could see it was well cared for. A stooped man with a beard that swept down to his belly shambled around the side of the house. "See you've finally brought Ole Bob a girl. A little long in the tooth for a wife now." The toothless man laughed.

Ara didn't find that funny. "Bob this is Ara, my apprentice. Ara this is Ole Bob. He's harmless." Gilan said introducing them. Ara shook his hand. It was well calloused, but it was warm and gentle.

"Well come on. I know you didn't come to chat me up." He waddled back around the house to a horse pen. Ara heard Blaze knicker a greeting. She waved to the little horse, but her eyes were on the tiny mare standing in the center of the pen.

Tiny thing she was. If Ara had to guess she would have said the horse had been bred for a child. A child Ara's size. She was the color of molten gold with a jet black mane and tail. Golden eyes surveyed Ara as walked to the fence.

Ara stared right back. Her eyes glazed over. "Is she for me?" she breathed. She hoped she was. She was in love and she would burn the world to the ground if any tried to take her from the little mare. Her heart skipped a beat a beat as the mare's ears flickered toward Ara.

"Of course. I ain't climbing up on er." Bob said with another chuckle.

Ara opened the pen door. The mare didn't move, but her eyes never left Ara. Gilen and Bob stayed outside. "Can I ride her?" She fully intended on riding the mare, but it was only nice that she asked.

"If you want to." Gilan answered with a smile quirking his lips.

Ara didn't need to be told twice. She practically ran into the pen. The mare didn't make a sound as Ara climbed up into her saddle. The saddle hugged Ara's legs and her butt. The saddles that she had been riding in weren't made for her. She was warm and not too big around that Ara felt like she was doing the splits. Ara knew that Ranger horses weren't like regular horses. Especially not those monsters that the knights rode. She could walk under the belly of one of those beasts, but still this mare was smaller than Blaze.

For once Ara liked that something was made for her small build.

She touched her heels to the mare's sides.

Ara felt the mare's muscles tightened and the first lick of uncertainty crawled up her back. She rose slightly in the saddle ready to jump off, but Ara only had a moment before the mare jumped straight up into the air. No warning, not a whisper of a sound. Ara screamed and tried to grab onto the pummel. The mare came down hard with a twist of her back legs. Ara sailed through the air like she was built for flying. She screamed the entire time she was in the air.

Her landing made Gilan wince.

All the air rushed out of her body upon impact. Her breath blew a horsefly off course.

Black dots danced before her eyes. Ara wanted to cry, but she wasn't going to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her cry. When Ara finally got her eyes to work she blinked up to a grinning Bob and Gilan. "What happened?" she croaked. It hurt to talk.

"Weren't you there? You got thrown from yer horse," Bob smiled. He was a little too cheerful about her near death experience. She tried to glare at him but it made her head swim.

She lay on the hard ground for a few more seconds just to make sure the world was going to be in one piece when she moved. Ara tried to stand. Bob stooped over to help Ara get vertical. She groaned like an old man sliding into a warm bath. It took several minutes for the world to stop spinning.

Gilan couldn't help the burst of laughter that burst from his lips. Ara glared at him. This time it didn't hurt as much. "You knew that was going to happen didn't you." She accused him. Even her anger made her hurt all over again, but she wasn't going to let him off the hook.

The bow sting had been one thing. She could have been killed being thrown from a horse like that.

Gilan wiped the tears streaming down his face. Ara let him carry on till he was done. "What have I told you about rushing into things?" He asked trying to wipe the smirk off his face. It was difficult.

"If memory serves you were knocked out for two hours after Blaze tossed you." Bob told Gilan. That made Ara smile and Gilan blush.

Her back cracked like crackling as she pulled herself up to her full height. Which brought her a few inches taller than Bob.

"Why did she let me get on her if she was going to toss me?" Ara wanted to be mad at the mare, but she was too beautiful for anger.

"Whisper here is a Ranger's horse." Bob patted Whispers flank. The little mare nickered and for a second Ara could have sworn she smirked. But horses didn't smirk. "You need a code word to ride er." Whisper looked over at Ara and the Arridi could swear the horse was now grinning at her.

"That's why Rangers horses are never stolen." Gilan explained.

"So what's Whisper's code word?" Ara asked.

Bob smiled, "M'lady may I." It was always a treat for Bob to watch the apprentices getting their horses. It was a art form to match an apprentice to their horse, and it was an important step in Ranger training. If an apprentice didn't bond with their horse both parties might as well give up.

A Ranger wasn't a Ranger without a horse and a Ranger's horse wasn't a horse without a Ranger.

Ara moved to make sure all of her parts were in working order. Her butt was going to be bruised in the morning, but she figured she could worry about that later. She was going to ride her horse.

Ara approached Whisper slowly. Whisper watched her, "M'lady may I?" Ara asked. The horse didn't give any indication that Ara had said anything. She went to climb up on her mare. The reality check smacked her in the back of the head. She looked back at Gilan and Bob. Ara didn't fancy another trip through the air. Whisper had a mean toss.

"Oh she's good now. Go head." Bob bobbed his head.

Ara slide into Whisper's saddle. "Been waiting a long time for the Rangers to wise up and get the fairer sex in the ranks. Had a whole stable of mares bred for female riders. Whisper here is ma first one. Take good care of her." Bob looked wistfully at Whisper.

"I will." Ara promised. She was the best gift Ara had ever received. Well other than the hairpin her mother had given her on the last birthday they would share.

"You can speak Arridi to her as well. Little birdy sent word ahead that you were coming so I been training her." Bob gave Ara a wink.

"Who told you I was coming?" She had only been in Araulen for a few weeks. There was no way he could have trained a horse in a few weeks let alone master the Arridi language enough to speak it to a horse.

"Tall willow of a man. Dark as coffee grounds he was." Ara had no doubt that he was speaking of her uncle, but how did he know Ara would end up running away to be a Ranger? Ara had to smile. Her uncle knew her better than her own father did. She would send him a letter as soon as she could.

With that happy thought Ara touched her heels lightly to Whisper's flank. Whisper softly trotted around the pin. It was as if her hooves weren't even connecting to the ground as she moved.

Bob opened the gate. "Let's see what she can do." Ara grinned.

"_Run m'lady,"_ Ara told her in Arridi.

Whisper didn't need to be told twice. The little filly leapt off like a bow shot. Ara gripped hard with her thighs to keep from sliding off her back. It was amazing how fast she went from standing stock still to racing through the woods.

The horse barely made a sound. Ara could see that Whisper wasn't sticking to any trail so she should have been breaking branches left and right, but she wasn't. Well if she was there Whisper wasn't making a sound. It was eerie, but freeing. The crisp air rushed into Ara's lungs and was whipped away just as fast as she exhaled. She wanted to whoop for joy, but that would have been childish.

Whispered turned around of her own accord to head back to Bob's pen. "Let's show them how a lady enters a pen." Ara told Whisper. The mare's ears flickered. Ara could feel Whisper preparing for the jump.

Whispered sailed easily over the pen fence. Bob whopped and clapped. Gilan gave her the barest of smiles. "Hope that isn't how you plan on sneaking up on a band of thieves." He said once Ara had swung down for her saddle.

"Just giving Old Bob something to smile about." Ara said. Whisper trotted behind her. She reached into the barrel of apples set to the side of a stroked Whisper's neck as the mare munched on her well earned apple.

"How nice of yer." Bob smiled. Ara rather thought he would be embarrassed to smile with his teeth in that state, but he didn't seem to mind. Ara would just over look it.

"Well take her over to the lean to. I'm sure Bob wouldn't mind showing you how to take care of Whispers tack. Mind if we stay the night with you?" Gilan asked as he handed Blaze as apple before she could knock him over.

"Don't mind at all." Old Bob led Whisper and Ara over to the lean-to. Gilan took the time to rub down Blaze and talk to her about Ara. Blaze had been staying with Old Bob to get her used to her new bunkmate. Gilan had missed her something fierce.

The three friends spent a cheery time in the two room cabin. Old Bob offered Ara his bed, but upon seeing the state of his room Ara politely declined. She slept next to the fireplace on a clean bed of straw. Gilan rolled up in his cloak on the floor beside him.

The next morning they set off back for their own cabin. Ara was glad to spend time with Old Bob but she was itching to get back to her own bed. Her clean bed. Ara was afraid that Old Bob might have had fleas. She couldn't stop scratching her backside.

"You're going to be raw if you keep that up." Gilan called back. Ara snatched her hand away from her butt as her cheeks flushed.

"I think something bit me." she confessed.

"Got some salve back at the cabin when we get there, but I daresay it will be next week if you and that nag don't pick up the pace." Gilan teased.

Whispered snorted at the same time Ara did. "Bet you dinner me and Whisper can beat you and that old mare you're riding." Blaze flickered her tail in arrogant annoyance.

"You're on." Gilan cried. Blaze didn't give it a second thought before she jumped off through the forest. Whisper didn't need any prompting. She was hot on Blaze's tail.


End file.
